Recent Answers

Save on fancy gift bags. Cover the box with paper or fabric and stick a gift bow to the lid. Stuff it with tissue paper and your gift.

By Amy (Guest Post)08/25/2008

Use them as storage for bird seed or pet food. Let your child decorate the outside with decorative paper, etc. Fill with choice of bird seed or dog/cat food. Use a recycled plastic pop bottle cut in half as your "scoop" and let them use to feed their pet or go outside and feed the birds! Keep oatmeal lid on when not using.

By Helen Kuhnsman (Guest Post)04/04/2008

I used them to make rocket ships for a birthday party - cover the outside in white paper, make a cone for the top using a circle of black poster board and use little dixie cups glued to the bottom for the rocket boosters.

By Michelle (Guest Post)02/02/2008

I use them for yarn holders when I knit and crochet too. Just clean them out real good, cut a little hole in the top and string your yarn through the hole!

By Jessica (Guest Post)02/02/2008

My son did his room in an Asian theme, we painted the can black I hot glued white beads on it in, spelling out love, joy, and peace in Japanese. We filled with sand and added cherry blossom plants (plastic of course). It looks wonderful.

Use them for freezing cookies, dinner rolls, crackers, or potato chips. They will stay fresh, but not draw moisture and get frost covered. Also protects them from getting smashed and broken in the freezer.Harlean from Arkansas

Don't have any ideas for the containers, but I use the plastic lids from the 18 oz. oatmeal containers for soap dishes. Since they've switched so much to the liquid soap dispensers, it's gotten so hard to find soap dishes like you used to be able to buy that have a little drain hole on the side that lets the soap scum drain down into the sink. So I've found that the lids to the 18 oz. size oatmeal containers work great; just cut a small (about 1/4-1/2 inch wide) hole in the side and add (if you can still find it--I found some at Bed, Bath and Beyond) one of those little "toothy"-looking soap drainers that'll hold the soap bar up off the bottom of your homemade soap dish. (Weird: I can still find the "toothy" soap drainers at stores like Bed, Bath and Beyond but not the actual soap DISHES with a drain hole; go figure.)

By Bonnie (Guest Post)02/01/2008

My Mom would cut the oatmeal box in half the long way and make a little cradle for my doll. Also, I used an oatmeal container to make the engine for a train. It held valentine cards for my daughter's valentine day party at school.

By Linda (Guest Post)02/01/2008

Use the containers to mail cookies to soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. We sure could use them here. The hold a good size homemade cookie and protect them from the rough trip.You can mail a good amount of anything to the soldiers in a "flat rate" box -- $8.95 -- no matter what the weight, up to 70 lbs. Quite a bargain for the much appreciated effort.

By suzin (Guest Post)02/01/2008

Use the oatmeal container for a kleenex type tissue container. I cut off the top part of the oatmeal box, measuring how much I need for a roll of toilet paper to sit in it. Take the plastic lid and cut a hole in the center. Remove the cardboard center from the toilet paper roll. Put the toilet paper in the oatmeal container. Insert the INSIDE end of the toilet paper roll in the hole you made in the plastic lid. Tape the plastic lid on with the end of the toilet paper pulled through it. You can decorate the outside of the container to match your decor. Pull out the desired length of Toilet paper you need to use.

By jean (Guest Post)01/31/2008

My daughter uses them for guinea pig beds and ferret tunnels. The guinea pigs chew on them, and the ferret loves to play with them. Take the bottom off for the ferret.

Archives

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Does anyone have any ideas on use for oatmeal containers? They seem to good to throw out.

Janet

Drum

If you have young kids, you can decorate them and make a drum out of them. I personally keep using mine over and over for oatmeal because I buy the bagged oatmeal and dump it in the container. (09/20/2004)

School Projects

Save them and take them to your local grade school. The kindergarten and pre-school teachers are always looking for them to use in school projects. (09/20/2004)

By Misti.

Decorative Containers

Cover with decorative paper, contact paper or wrapping paper and use for holiday cookies, etc. Or use to store plastic bags, You could also clean out well and put the yarn you are knitting or crocheting with inside, cut a hole in the lid or side or the yarn to pull through, and then your yarn won't be a temptation to a pet and will stay clean. (09/20/2004)

By

For Bulk Oatmeal

I buy oatmeal in bulk for about 39 cents a pound and just refill the oatmeal round box. (09/20/2004)

My Ideas

Cover with decorative paper and use as a coin catcher.

Use as a gift box for clothing or odd shaped items. wrap as usual.

Store children's toys. (they will probably have more fun with the box). Cookie jar.

Hide your valuables, just fill and put back in cupboard.

Near laundry area... throw all the pocket stuff in the container.

Grocery bag holder... make an X in the top with a knife or scissors.

Garbage can for vehicle.

Cover with brown paper and send a gift in the mail. Use duct tape to tape lid down.

Cover with wallpaper. etc. put some stationary, envelopes, pen and stamps in the tube...give as a gift.

Keep craft items together.

Put one or two paper punches in top..and use to keep skeins of yard from rolling away while knitting.

Add a handle and take your craft project to work on while waiting in doctors office, etc.

Cookie Containers

You could always paste some wrapping paper, fabric or whatever around the box and bake cookies and use as a container to give out during the holidays or a birthday. Maybe some fudge, or a round pumpkin bread cake that was baked in a coffee can would fit in just perfectly....Cover the plastic lid with part of a greeting card from last year if there is writing on it. Cut a circle of fabric and place between the lid and box. Tie a raffia ribbon. (09/22/2004)

May Baskets

We used to decorate them, fill with candy and hang as May baskets for friends at least once a week. Do they still do that? I have not heard of anyone doing it. Used to be a lot of fun, when they called ally, ally in free, not able to catch us we would go in for snack, perhaps some of candy and coffee or chocolate. This was before TV, all through the month of May. (10/19/2005)

The good news is, I found a great sale on Quaker Oats. But now I have all these lovely oatmeal boxes. They're round and about a foot tall and hold 42 ounces. I just hate to throw them away, especially if I could make something saleable for my spring yard sale! Help!

Coreen from Rupert, ID

RE: Uses for Oatmeal Containers

I don't know of anything to make for resale but you could cover them with wrapping paper or something decorative and use to hold craft supplies....or perhaps decorate and use as a gift "bag" (02/08/2007)

RE: Uses for Oatmeal Containers

When I was a child 60 years ago...we made doll cradles out of them. Remove the lid, then you cut 2-3 of the way down the center on both sides, and across to the outer edge. You remove the 1/2 cylinder shape. Glue the lid back on and lay on it's side. Voila a cradle,. Decorate as you please. (02/08/2007)

By siris

RE: Uses for Oatmeal Containers

PERFECT for storing extra large SEEDS you might have in abundance, such as Palm seeds. My grandchild suggests: Cut out the bottom and use it for pet tubes, Hot Wheel car tunnels, and many stacked/glued just right can be used for playing post office with junk mail. He wonders if it could be used for making a giant kalidiscope or for storing gloves and hats inside the closet? (02/10/2007)